The United Nations Educational Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) celebrates the World Book and Copyright Day on April 23.
The date April 23 was chosen as it is a symbolic date for the literature world. In 1616, on this date, Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. Apart from that, this is also the birth or the death date of other prominent authors, like Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.
The day is primarily a celebration of readers, authors, and books, worldwide. UNESCO along with other organizations representing the major sectors of the book industry including publishers, booksellers and libraries, choose a World Book Capital for a particular year.
For 2020, Kuala Lumpur has been chosen as the World Book Capital because of its strong focus on inclusive education, development of a knowledge-based society and accessible reading for all parts of the city.
The slogan for the city is "KL Baca – caring through reading”. This basically focuses on four themes:
1. reading in all its forms,
2. development of the book industry infrastructure
3. inclusiveness and digital accessibility,
4. empowerment of children through reading.
On the occasion of The World Book and Copyright, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO said, “Books have the unique ability both to entertain and to teach. They are at once a means of exploring realms beyond our personal experience through exposure to different authors, universes and cultures, and a means of accessing the deepest recesses of our inner selves”.
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